A judge tries to sink the “Can Ban” on Hill Country rivers. A leading gubernatorial candidate hopes to cash in on Super Bowl wagers. And a thief targets a funeral for a hearse heist. These are a few of the happenings across Texas in this week’s edition of Lone Star Brites:
CANNING THE ’CAN BAN’
NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas - Tubers may yet again be allowed to pop the top on a cool beverage while floating down Hill Country rivers.
A judge has struck down a New Braunfels city ordinance that banned tubers from bringing canned drinks on the Comal and Guadalupe rivers. The decision is a blow to the city’s attempt to regulate disposable food and beverage containers that can litter the popular waters.
The city enacted the so-called “Can Ban” in 2012. This came five years after it passed an ordinance that barred large coolers from the rivers inside city limits. Violators faced a fine of up to $500.
The judge on Monday sided with a beer distributor and others, ruling that New Braunfels doesn’t have the jurisdiction to regulate disposable items.
The city can still appeal.
ABBOTT’S SUPER BOWL OFFER
AUSTIN, Texas - Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott opposes casinos. But the longtime Texas attorney general still has a Super Bowl wager for supporters.
Abbott is making an offer to potential donors in an email: Contribute $5 to his campaign, and win prizes such as bumper stickers or T-shirts by guessing the score of Sunday’s game.
So what about that coming from a candidate opposed to expanding gambling in Texas? Abbott spokesman Matt Hirsch told The Dallas Morning News (https://dallasne.ws/1gnzg7B ) to read the fine print.
A disclaimer at the bottom of the email says no contributions are required to enter the pool. That’s because legally, it’s not gambling if you don’t have to pay to play.
As for legal gambling in Texas, Abbott’s aides say the state isn’t ready to go down that path.
HEARSE HEIST
JUNCTION, Texas - A suspected thief found himself behind bars in West Texas after authorities say he was caught stealing a hearse outside a church during a funeral.
Officials say the unoccupied hearse was left running Tuesday morning, amid cold weather, while parked outside a San Antonio church during a funeral.
The suspect was located hours later in the Junction area, more than 100 miles away, driving the hearse reported stolen by the funeral home. Officers in Kimble County were on the lookout after getting a report that the suspect stopped for a meal but skipped out on paying the bill.
BEAUTY QUEEN ARREST
LAREDO, Texas - The reigning beauty queen from a Mexican state bordering South Texas was arrested for allegedly interfering with an officer.
Laredo police say 24-year-old Barbara Falcon Prieto and a friend were arrested in the early morning hours of Jan. 26.
Police say officers were called to a Laredo bar because people in Falcon’s group were trying to leave with alcohol. Police say when an officer tried to interview one of the men Falcon yelled at them, pushed an officer and tried to pull his hands away. Her friend also tried to intervene when police turned their attention to Falcon - the 2013 Nuestra Belleza winner for Tamaulipas.
Falcon was charged with interfering with public duties, a class B misdemeanor. It was not immediately clear if she had an attorney.
CASE OF THE MISSING COOKING OIL
NOLANVILLE, Texas - Some oil being pumped in Central Texas has nothing to do with rigs or pipelines.
Nolanville police have asked for the public’s help in identifying two men seen on surveillance video stealing used cooking oil from outside a restaurant.
Bell County Crime Stoppers on Wednesday announced details of the theft from the Boondocks Tavern in Nolanville, about 60 miles north of Austin.
Investigators say two thieves with a flatbed truck hauling a white plastic tank cut the padlock on the restaurant storage container. Used cooking oil was pumped into the tank, then the suspects drove away.
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